Long before Ciao Bella opened its doors, our story was being written around family dinners, homemade bread, backyard pizza nights, laughter, and a love for bringing people together. This is where it all began.
Food has always been our family’s compass — pointing us to the table, to each other, and now to a small pizzeria in Middletown.
Papa grew up in Switzerland helping Nonna in the kitchen, spending time on his uncle’s dairy farm, and learning from his father, who was one of the first local “mobile” butchers with a refrigerated cart. He later cooked in the Swiss Army, immigrated to the United States, lived in New York and Los Angeles, and met our mom — whose first job was in a health food deli and who has always loved simple, wholesome ingredients.
As they built a life in California, Papa started a painting company in the Napa Valley. With four children to feed, he and Mom cooked almost everything from scratch — pizza, pasta, bread, pastries — and that’s how we learned. When our family moved to Lake County in 1996, Papa built a backyard pizza oven, and our home became a place where friends and family gathered, delicious food was made, and we learned that simple ingredients, love, and hospitality make the best food.
Life took us different directions for a while, but when Nina moved back from Napa — right around the corner — we knew it was time. We rolled up our sleeves and built a tiny pizza shop from the ground up, with lots of Amore and a little drywall dust. It’s also where our kids will grow up — working beside us, learning the craft, and being shaped by the same values we were raised on: family, hard work, and a good meal shared.
Ciao Bella Pizzeria is our family on a plate: a small menu, quality ingredients, and the kind of hospitality we grew up with. From our little kitchen in Middletown to your table — welcome to the family. Mangia!
